Why the Nationwide Legalization of Marijuana is Inevitable

Despite decades-long propaganda and criminalization, the West is finally waking up to the facts regarding marijuana.

Oh, Mary Jane, what a torrid history you have. Someone how you managed to go from one of the most widely-cultivated plants in the world to one of the most outlawed and reviled – hell, you were even the first plant to be cultivated for fabrics. And now, here we are. Nearly two decades into the new millennium and folks are still just coming around to the reality of marijuana.

While mainstream culture like films and music have injected the lovely emerald plant into the society’s collective conscious, there still lurks a massive stigma surrounding cannabis – it’s almost as if scaring an entire generation of kids into thinking that it’s a gateway drug might have had some effect.

To this day, marijuana remains ranked as a Schedule I drug by the Federal Government, alongside the likes of LSD and MDMA – both of which are substances that have garnered large followings over the years for their ability to assist with overcoming past trauma. While Federal research on marijuana is virtually non-existent, more and more states are turning to taking matters into their own hands.

With the likes of Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, and Colorado legalizing the plant for both recreational and medical use, the wave of acceptance is slowly sweeping across the nation. Any pockets of resistance that attempt to revert to “the way things used to be” will find themselves quickly outnumbered by those who seek to not only distance themselves from the harmful effects of pharmaceutical drugs, but from the heavy-handed criminalization of those who use it.

As states begin to regulate and tax the transactions of marijuana, the profits will be too large to ignore. Hell, just look at the extra revenue that Colorado was able to generate since they implemented legalization. All of that extra cash is surplus that can go right back into public works architecture local schools – so the next time that someone calls you a loser for lighting up, just remind them that you’re actually contributing to the greater good.

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In seriousness, the legalization and research of cannabis still has a long way to go. There might be a horde of young voters who will vehemently defend the plant’s medicinal benefits – but there’s no arguing that the amount of scientifically verifiable research is still highly scare. Until the federal government relaxes their draconic stance on research, the floodgates will continue to hold.

All is not lost, though. Even with such continued resistance, the truth is out there. From both an economic and medicinal point of view, legalization and regulation make far too much sense. Too many resources have been devoted to demonizing a plant that never deserved the reputation it has been slapped with. It’s time that it’s treated as the boon to society that it can be.

Nikola is a carbon-based life-form residing on Earth dimension C-137. Lover of all things fast and furious. When he's not tapping away at a keyboard, he can be found aimlessly drifting in cyberspace, looking for signs of intelligent life.